Famous cannon was at siege

And concerning the 10 Columbiad unearthed in Vicksburg, I found the newspaper article about it.
The two XI dalghren shell guns from the ironclad Tuscumbia which were used in the siege are in the park. There is also a 10 Columbiad which came from the Whig Office Battery, which the UDC buried, but was later excavated.

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I suddenly have this very strange vision of bunch of little old ladies stealing this cannon in the middle of the night, digging a big hole and pushing it in.

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Apparently at one time WD had it's own iron tablet position marker....where it is now who knows?

Vicksburg Herald Sept. 11, 1906
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There was also an iron tablet for the Whig office battery....which apparently was located near the intersection of Washington and China streets...which is where a 9 inch Dahlgren naval gun is located today....
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I think there are several other posts and threads about this but this clearly places the battery at Washington and China which was where the Baer and Brother store was located............

Vicksburg Herald 24 Dec. 1886
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(also the Whig Office itself was located at Washington and China).........
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Here are a few "Firsthand" accounts (CS Vets magazine) of the guns in question that answer some of these question but also bring up more questions. The 3rd account would seem to put to bed what type gun it was as he said "I was there"

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It's interesting how many members of the 1st Tennessee claimed that 'Whistling Dick' was in their battery at Wyman Hill. But it wasn't - it was at the Railroad Battery 200 yards below the Railroad Depot.

Telling is one soldier's comment that it was re-named from 'Long Tom' by Grant's men, yet another Confederate soldier mentioned standing among 'Whistling Dick', 'Long Tom' and another. Another forum member once surmised that there was possibly confusion on Grant's side as to which cannon was actually Whistling Dick, which is possibly also why they were fooled by a convenient cannon they found after the siege.

There was also probably a desire by each river battery to take credit for the cannon's exploits. My g-g-grandfather, who manned a columbiad at the battery just north of Whistling Dick's actual location, wrote of the cannon "jarring out glass windows". So it must have been a bit closer than Wyman's hill....unless he also had it misidentified. There is also the frequently noted sinking of the Cincinnati by 'Whistling Dick'. I don't have time to go through the 'Official Records', but just reading a diary entry from May 27, 1862 by an artillerist at the Whig Office Depot, he describes the Cincinnati as engaging the lower batteries, then being fired on by his detachment at the Whig Office Battery, then being sunk by the upper battery guns - clearly those manned by the 1st Tennessee. Perhaps the 'Cincinnati/Whisting Dick' reports originated from members of the 1st Tennessee and the Cincinnati was actually sunk by a gun other than 'Whistling Dick', but one that was considered to be 'Whistling Dick' by members of the 1st Tennessee?

More questions than answers it seems.
 
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